What Can You Do With an Aviation Management Degree?

What can you do with an aviation management degree? Join Pete as he flies through the possible career opportunities for students majoring in aviation management in this installment of, “What can I do with THAT degree?”

Do you see yourself on the management side of things? Do you think that you might one day want to run an airport or oversee airport operations? If so, then the aviation management degree is right for you. But what can you do with that degree? Well, I’m kind of the career expert around here, and I’m here to tell you! What can you do with an aviation management degree?

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There are two options for students majoring in aviation management. You could take it with the flight program, or without. If you are majoring in aviation management with flight, then you probably like to fly! In this case, you couldbecome a pilot, copilot, or flight engineer with your degree. With hours of training and the right certifications, you could get recruited by top airlines, such as JetBlue, American or Delta. These are great careers for people who like to fly, and your time in the air could be flying for commercial airlines, or performing other flight tasks, such as dusting crops, plane testing and even fighting fires!

The first thing that you could do after graduating with your aviation management degree is consider earning your graduate degree right here atFlorida Tech. The Master of Science in Aviation is a non-thesis, 30-credit course outline that gives students the proper knowledge in aviation management, including aviation economics, security and a capstone course. This gives you a thorough understanding of the industry, and helps build leadership and management skill sets.

If you choose the Air Traffic Control option within your degree, then you could possibly bypass the Air Traffic Basics Course at the FAA Academy and become an air traffic controller. Basically, with this career, you would control the skies. Air traffic controllers direct the traffic of more than 87,000 flights a day, according to the FAA, and there are 315 different FAA facilities that you could work at throughout the country. It’s an extremely important job, considering the job description, and it pays well!

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If you chose the flight option with your degree in aviation management, then you could also become a flight instructor, and this helps you build flight hours and gain professional experience in the industry.

If you are brave and you like protecting others, you could work for the U.S. Federal Government as an air marshal. Air marshals guard and defend against attacks to U.S. aircraft and their passengers. Many may work independently, and so air marshals are trained in self-defense, terrorist recognition and handling of weapons.

Well, there you have it in a nutshell! These are just a few things you can do with a degree in aviation management, and I didn’t even get to go through all of them. That’s because there are so many different possibilities with this degree! So instead of asking, “What can I do with that degree,” ask, “Where will my degree fly me to?”

About Author

Rebekah Duntz '16 is a communication major and Melbourne local who has practically grown up on campus. As an aspiring journalist, Rebekah has a passion for writing and reading, and she’s the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper on campus, the Crimson.